Art can be everywhere; public art in Western Australia

Although its forms are now quite different, public art has historically played an integral role within our public realm. In recent years public art has enjoyed a revival occurring in conjunction with our desire to improve the quality of our public realm. Claire Doherty's 'The New Rules of Public Art' published in 2013 reflect a change in direction. New forms of public art such as performance, ephemeral, installation and electronic media alongside more traditional forms such as sculpture and murals contribute to contemporary place-making generating engaging, memorable public spaces.

The emergence of the Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF), FORM PUBLIC and FRINGE WORLD festivals, which are all now significant events on the world stage, reflect Perth's cultural growth. PIAF has delivered captivating performance, ephemeral and installation works by leading international artists such as 'Place des Anges' by Les Studios de Cirque in 2012 and 'Walking with the Giants' by Royal de Luxe in 2015. FORM's PUBLIC urban art festival has brought leading international street artists to Perth in its first three years. Pixel Pancho's 'Protection Against the Immigrant in Myself' on the Central Institute of Technology building in Northbridge, Phlegm's giant 'Impossible Flying Machines' on silos in Northam, Alexis Diaz's 'Leafy Sea Dragon' in Wolf Lane, Perth and DALeast's 'Inertance W' on the Water Corporation building in Leederville are all high quality murals.

In a global economy cities are inevitably competing to attract attention, talent, business and tourism. Cities that have established and embraced creative cultures, such as Melbourne, have benefitted in not only a social but economic sense. Public art by definition is the most accessible form of art and an opportunity for cities to establish memorable, authentic identities reflecting local history, people and places. Generating quality public art however requires comprehensive government policy, forward thinking master-planning, rigorous artist education, training programs, knowledge sharing networks, availability of affordable studios, dedicated public art management staff, passionate advisory groups, community involvement programs, public private sector relationships and significant funding. A co-ordinated holistic approach.

Some local councils such as the City of Vincent, Victoria Park and Melville have embraced public art acknowledging its ability to engage a diverse range of social groups within local communities. The City of Vincent were the first local council to establish a Percent for Public Art Scheme, recently created an online mural and public art map encouraging awareness and have commissioned many public art works. The City of Perth has also commissioned works however its commitment to public art to this point is underwhelming.

Examining the City of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane's public art strategy and policy documents highlights their strong commitment to public art. The City of Melbourne also recently established a Public Art Melbourne Biennial Lab. Ten selected Australian artists will develop innovative works in a laboratory style environment, supported by input from a panel of experts, culminating in a number of commissions for the Queen Victoria Market site. By comparison the City of Perth only recently adopted a Public Art Strategy and are still to develop comprehensive public arts policy, management systems and commissioning processes.

The Government of Western Australia has commissioned significant quantities of public art through its Percent for Art Scheme. Operating since 1989 the scheme is implemented by the Department for Culture and the Arts in conjunction with Building Management and Works requiring government developments over $2M to commission public art from local artists. This has generated significant quantities of public art however the quality of many outcomes are poor. Any form of artistic expression is subjective, worthy of robust debate and often controversial, however whilst the need for public art is not often questioned the quality of outcomes raises questions. Should we be commissioning public art from a broader mix of international, national, established local and emerging public artists to improve outcomes? Alternatively do local artists commissioned for public art in Western Australia simply need to lift their game or can we provide a better infrastructure framework for artists to achieve better outcomes?

Perth has a number of talented street artists such as Stormie Mills and Kyle Hughes-Odgers, both of whom are acclaimed internationally and have contributed numerous murals to Perth. We are also blessed with many emerging street artists producing engaging work. The quality of locally commissioned performance, ephemeral, installation and sculptural work however does not often achieve the same great heights. Sculptural outcomes in particular are poor. Sculpture intended for the public realm is more complex requiring a diverse skill base, interaction with many collaborators as well as significant budgets to cover artist’s time, materials, fabrication, transportation and installation costs.

Our public realm is littered with examples of strong ideas executed poorly through questionable material selections and construction techniques. Many concepts are pursued without consideration for their ability to be successfully executed within given budgets, which are always limiting to some extent. The most successful outcomes often result from strong collaborations between artists, architects and specialised fabricators which is outlined in public art policies but doesn't always occur. Artists often excel in responding to sites, generating and developing creative concepts while architects bring their knowledge of siting, materials selection and construction techniques. Skilled fabricators and contractors such as Urban Art Projects (UAP) who specialise in art for the public realm, are also critical in ensuring strong concepts translate into quality outcomes. Artists, architects and fabricators need to be more open to engaging in collaborative relationships acknowledging each other's strengths, knowledge and skills. All three participants are important in achieving quality outcomes.

Education and training for public art practitioners is also lacking. Until recently there were no recognised high level paths of study dedicated to public art in Australia, let alone Western Australia. Most artists engaged in public art studied broader visual or fine arts courses and evolved into this form of art from smaller scale painting and sculpture practices. The leap in scale demands the use of construction materials requiring specialised construction techniques. It's location in the public realm also demands the use of highly durable, low maintenance materials resistant to vandalism. Both requirements can erode concepts if not considered, prototyped and executed well. As we now have significant quantities of public art contributing to our public realm education and training for artists specialising in this field needs to be strengthened.

The integration of sculptural works within the built environment has also changed. Previously many works commissioned through the Percent for Art Scheme were standalone artworks in foyers, forecourts or surrounding public spaces. Public art is increasingly integrated into building facades which too often results in limiting artists scope and by extension their creativity, to selecting screening patterns to hide building services such as parking, electrical, water or fire services. The results are often generic, predictable and un-imaginative outcomes leaving little arts component, which could easily be provided as part of the architects scope of work.

Geoffrey Drake-Brockman's eleven metre high 'Totem' created as part of the Perth Arena development is beautifully constructed, respectful of the building it was created for and interactive with both passing pedestrians as well as the building. Although this work enjoyed the relative freedom of a generous time-frame and budget which many don't, it successfully contributes to both the architecture and surrounding public realm. Many of Stuart Green's sculptural works such as 'Fizz' at the New Children's Hospital and 'Crossing' at Atwell College also achieve similar qualities.

The arts are considered by many to have purely social benefits, however embracing public art will also bring significant economic benefits to Western Australia. The Government of Western Australia has committed to public art through its Percent for Arts Scheme however its surrounding infrastructure framework needs to be strengthened. Providing a more holistic approach will allowing local artists to achieve high quality outcomes. Likewise the City of Perth needs to strengthen its commitment to public art in the same way other Australian capital cities have done.

Art can and should be everywhere. Engaging narratives, captivating images as well as intriguing sounds reflecting local history, people and places should enliven our built environment reflecting Perth's cultural identity on the world scene. Art done well will inspire West Australians to achieve great things in many fields as well as meaningfully contribute to our shared public realm.

May 2016

Image - Stormie Mills mural on Building 204 at Curtin University commissioned as part of FORM's 2016 Urban Art Festival